Predicta prototype?
 

Very odd Predicta set in the link below....take a look....at first looks like a normal 17" metal Princess but looking at it closely it appears to use the 21" pic tube/housing, and the body appears to be wood rather than metal! At first I thought it was homemade but the back details look real to me. Its labelled "Siesta" on the back yet it doesn't have a clock like the actual production models. My guess is its a prototype!? Anyone know more about this?

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_...ta_siesta.html

I'm thinking "Frankenset"

Is there any reason a 21 Tube wouldn't fit right in the 17" mount?

After the barber pole model, there was the later more modern version with the side legs and optional UHF also. By the looks of the channel selector arrangement, maybe this one is the table model version of that?

Howard Sams 439-1 (dated 4-59) is the earlier barber pole version but the picture on the Photofact is the 21" Holiday table model (chassis 9L37x) and yes, these were wooden. The Princess 17" models were the metal cabinets and a diffferent chassis number not covered by this Photofact.

As far as mounting goes I suppose there would be some common things but someone else will have to comment. I haven't been around any others except for my barber pole.

Not sure about the original set posted but, as long as we are speaking of odd duck Predictas, I have a 21" with a wooden cabinet the size of the Princess model. It is painted gold over mahogany with what looks like the 10L42 chassis installed. It is factory paint as the control labels are silk screened on it. I can find no actual chassis number though. I have thought it was possibly an export model. The "Bright" control is labeled "Brill" (Brilliance). I've never seen another like it.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/DSC01825.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/DSC01827.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/DSC01830.jpg

"N" would be 1962, if I'm correct. So did they make a few sets in '62? The 9L37 & 10L43/11L43 were 1959-60. As dreadful of a design those are, by the tube lineup, at least this one looks like a full transformer supply and not a series string set.

Charles

@ Tim: wow! Seems you have something very rare and different there! No picture tube though? Could you take a pic of the sides too? I'm wondering if yours looks the same as the one in my link, with open slots cut into the wood. I bet these are prototypes! I've never heard or seen anything like these.

The 1959 were series string using the reworked 58 portable chassis. There were also more conventional low end consoles that used the same chassis.

The 1960 were transformer powered. The bubble tops were dropped for the 61 model year. Some later chassis would fit into the 1960 cabinets. There were both 17 and 21 inch bubble top models for 1960.

The back shown is not a production back. Note the duplicate markings and mis-marked controls.

The Radio museum set has a switch for 110v or 220v and the label says 110 to 220 volts, can't quite make out the cycles but I think it's 50 so it must have been for export.

Spudz:

As requested, here is a photo of the side. I do have the crt, just not mounted on the base at the time of the photo. It is a standard 21"

Don:
I was hoping you'd chime in on this thread. Are you familiar at all with this gold painted wood base set or the use of the word "Brill" instead of "Brite"?

Thanks.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/DSC01837.jpg

When you go to the site and scroll down to "NOTES" you read the following about a 2nd Siesta model with a clock:

"Notes- Special designed TV Set with 53cm free-standing picture tube, There is known a 2nd Siesta Type which included a clock that could turn the TV on and off at a designated time. VHF and UHF Tuner."

-Steve D.